"I don't give a rats ass about going to hell. Guess I feel like I'm already there. What I do mind is the thought of being killed by you ugly bastards. I've gone my whole life without being helped by anyone else, and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you help me into my grave."
When one thinks of a samurai, they think of a disciplined and honorable warrior. This...is not Mugen. No, Mugen is a trash talking, brash, and yet still brutally effective fighter. One can leave all that discipline and honor stuff with Jin (
Samurai Champloo's other resident badass swordsmith). Like every other character on this list, Mugen certainly isn't lacking in the badassery category. But also like every character on this list, he's got depth (and a kickass backstory).
 |
| They totally had breakdancing samurai in Edo Japan |
If theres any character that epitomizes the free flowing hip hop style that is
Samurai Champloo it would be Mugen. Character designer Kazuto Nakazawa was quoted saying that the director wanted a character who "looked like a rapper and acted like a bad guy." Mugen, being one of the protagonists is more of an anti-hero than he is a bad guy. Mugen's most defining trait is the way that he fights. As Jin so often states, Mugen's style of fighting is undisciplined. Rather than follow the traditional way of sort fighting, Mugen mixes in various forms of martial arts and breakdancing. Not only that but he's deadly with his sword as well, to the point that he can fight hordes of enemies all by himself. In addition, he's helped out by a total devil may care attitude. In any fight that he's involved in expect Mugen to be foul mouthed while slicing and dicing his opponents. Plus any character thats voiced by Steve Blum (spoiler theres another Steve Blum voiced character on this list) is bound to be made of awesome. Mugen certainly carries on the legacy of great Steve Blum characters. Mugen is certainly worthy of being on this list just because of how badass he is. I mean, watch a video
like this and it's no surprise that someone this awesome belongs on a list this awesome.
 |
| Polar opposites and yet a kickass team |
It wouldn't be a Mugen piece if I didn't add a little about his character development. Before teaming up with the main characters, Mugen ran with a gang of pirates. Unfortunately, he was sold out by the leader of the group, the treacherous Mukuro, and was sentenced to be executed. Mugen was able to escape and eventually set out alone as a wandering swordsman. Up until he meets the main characters, theres very few people that he cares about. This is mostly because of the way he was sold out by the very gang that he thought had his back. Jin obviously stands out as Mugen's counterpart from the first episode. The two are polar opposites of each other; both in the way they fight and they way that they act. Throughout the series, they keep referencing that after they complete their quest for Fuu, they're going to finish the fight they started in the first episode. However, as the series runs along and the two learn more about one another, the relationship changes from an antagonistic tone to one of respect. It's a similar situation with Fuu. At first, Mugen is not willing at all to help her find the Sunflower Samurai but as the series continues he begins to care for Fuu, even risking his life for her. Jin and Fuu were the first two people that Mugen was ever able to trust and become friends with after the pirates betrayed him.
Mugen has a lot of awesome qualities that add up and make him one cool character. For starters he's pretty badass (I haven't said that one enough) and it's cool to see his character develop over the course of the show's run. Like I said in the preface for this series every character needs something that makes them different; theres plenty of badasses out there. Mugen is different because he comes from such a unique series and theres not many other hip-hop cool samurais out there. It is for these reasons that he finds himself at #15
No comments:
Post a Comment